Do you have a Barbie doll with straight hair that you want to turn curly? Barbies have synthetic hair that can’t be curled with heat like human hair, but there are several ways to achieve waves, curls, or ringlets using common household items. You can give Barbie bouncy curls easily with just a little braiding or twisting, and then putting her in the freezer!

Steps

Method1

Creating the Curls

1

Brush out your Barbie’s hair first. Make sure your Barbie’s hair is free of tangles before you curl it. Use a Barbie brush or a human hair brush to gently work through the doll hair.

Just like with human hair, detangling works best if you pull the brush downward with short strokes, starting from the bottom (ends) of the hair and working up toward the tops (roots).

If you are having trouble detangling Barbie hair that has become very matted or damaged by products, try first soaking the hair in a mug of warm water and about a tablespoon of fabric softener for 10-15 minutes.[1]

2

Braid Barbie’s hair for wavy curls. Split your Barbie’s hair into several small sections to create braids all over her head. Split each section into three strands and do a standard braid all the way to the ends of the hair.

The number of sections you make in your Barbie’s hair is up to you. The fewer the sections, the more hair will be in each braid, resulting in larger, looser waves. The more sections, the less hair will be in each braid, resulting in smaller, tighter waves.

Choose this method for your Barbie’s hair if you want her to have a wavy, crimped-looking hairdo rather than round ringlet curls.

3

Create little rollers for ringlets. Use pieces of drinking straws, pipe cleaner, or aluminum foil to create miniature hair rollers for your Barbie that will create round barrel or ringlet curls. Take a small section of hair and wrap or roll it around a curler, then do the same for each strand on the entire head of hair.

To use straws, cut them into pieces about an inch long. Place the straw at the bottom of a strand of hair and roll the hair up and around it. Keep rolling till you reach the top of the hair strand.[2]

To use aluminum foil, cut strips of foil about 4 inches wide. Fold each in half repeatedly until you have a small, thick strip. Twist the strip to make a strong rope shape. Then place a “rope” against your Barbie’s hair, in the same direction the hair falls. Twist a small strand of hair around the foil all the way to the bottom.[3]

To use pipe cleaners, cut them to a length a little longer than your Barbie’s hair and wrap small strands around the pipe cleaner in the same way as with a piece of foil. Or, you can fold a pipe cleaner in half, place the crook of the fold against the Barbie’s head, and weave the hair through the two ends of the pipe cleaner for tight “rotini” curls.[4]

4

Secure with hair bands or bobby pins. Make sure your braids or little curlers don’t fall out during the next steps. Secure the hair with elastics or bobby pins to maintain the curls while they get wet, freeze, and dry out.

If you used aluminum foil or pipe cleaners, all you have to do is fold over the ends of each piece and wrap them around your spiral of hair to hold them in place.[5]

For braids, use small size elastics to secure the hair at the end of each of your braids.

For straws, use two bobby pins per straw piece. Push one onto each end of the straw piece to hold it, and the hair wrapped around it, in place.[6]

Method2

Wetting and Freezing the Hair

1

Dip Barbie’s head into hot water. Pour water that has just boiled over your Barbie’s hair, or dip her head into boiled water for about 10 seconds. Be very careful when boiling and handling hot water, and avoid getting it on anything other than the Barbie’s hair.

Boiling water and handling boiled water should be performed by an adult. Children should get help from a parent, teacher, or guardian for this step.

If you cannot get adult supervision or you can’t or don’t want to boil water, you can simply use the warmest water from your sink. There’s a chance your Barbie’s curls won’t last quite as long, but it should achieve about the same effect.

2

Place your Barbie into the freezer. Let your Barbie cool for a few minutes after applying hot water to the hair. Then put her into your freezer to allow the hair to cool and set.

Leave your Barbie in the freezer for about 30-60 minutes, or until the hair is hardened/frozen, before removing it.

Ensure that the doll isn’t near open food items or anything else that could stick to it in the freezer.

3

Allow the hair to dry completely. Set your Barbie on a bath towel or paper towel and allow the hair to thaw out and dry completely. Be prepared to wait several hours for this to happen, otherwise the curls will not hold.

Start this process before bed and leave your Barbie’s hair to dry overnight for an easy way to wait patiently before your final results.

To speed up the drying process, you can also blot at the hair periodically with an absorbent towel. Just make sure you don’t pull out any of the braids or curlers while doing so.

4

Pull your braids/curlers out gently. When the Barbie’s hair is dry, carefully undo the braids or remove the straws, foil, or pipe cleaners you used as curlers. Do this gently without straightening out the resulting curls.

Remember to unfold the ends of pipe cleaners or aluminum foil, or remove the bobby pins from either end of a straw, before pulling them out.

Take out your first braid or curler slowly and check to see if the hair is still damp. If it is, redo the braid or curl as best you can, and leave the whole head of hair to dry for longer before taking everything out.[7]

Method3

Maintaining or Undoing the Curls

1

Brush out for a fuller, frizzy look. Lightly brush or comb through your Barbie’s hair if you want a fuller, frizzier hairdo. Use fingers first, then a hairbrush if needed or desired, to separate the curls and create volume.

Note that this method may straighten out curls more than desired, or turn tight curls into more relaxed waves or crinkles.

Go slowly and start with a small section of hair to make sure you like the effect of the curls brushed out before you do the whole head of hair.

2

Separate hair gently for defined curls. Use just your fingers to adjust curls as they are when you first take out your braids or curlers. You can separate the curls gently for a fuller and more relaxed look, or leave them alone completely to keep tight, defined curls.

To keep tight, smooth curls, touch them as little as possible after you take the braids or curlers out very gently. Don’t run your fingers, a brush, or anything else through the curls and they will stay in place for quite awhile.

To create a little more volume and natural-looking curls, separate the curls just slightly by adjusting the hair with your fingers to pull apart the curls a little. Take it slow so you can make sure you like the look before you do the whole head of hair.

3

Re-wet Barbie’s hair to undo curls. When you’re ready to give your Barbie a new hairdo, undo the curls simply by rewetting the hair. Brush out the wet hair and let it dry again to return it back to its original straight style.

Avoid using any human hair products like hairspray to keep the curls in place on Barbie hair, as these will only gunk it up over time and make it much harder to create hairstyles in the future.

If your Barbie’s hair is tangled and difficult to return back to normal, try retreating it with a fabric softener and water mixture. Or you can dip it in warm or hot water again to help get it smooth.[8]

Community Q&A

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Can you use this method on any doll?

wikiHow Contributor

This method of hair curling should work on nearly any doll with synthetic hair. Just keep in mind that you may need more or different materials for bigger dolls with more hair. For instance, for a larger doll like an American Girl Doll, you could use markers or glue sticks for curlers instead of straws.